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Question

Bought the Wrong Camera?! FS50

by Sep 29, 2013 9:12PM PDT

Hello All!

I am hoping to get a little advice.

My 2 yearold son dropped my trusty Coolpix S500 (I know, I've had it a while but have always been very happy with the results it gives!) so I had to find a new camera.

I spent hours googling around and on Which? reading reviews and decided that if I could find a goo deal on the Panasonic TZ7, that would be the one. A camera that would simply take really nice pictures, and that would last a few years.

It was my son's 3rd birthday the other day and I paniced and decided I needed a god camera - that my phone camera wouldn't suffice. So I went to my local photographic shop and tried to buy a TZ7. Only they said that it was superceded by the TZ9, for which they wanted £170.. out of my budget.

They have a limited selection but I ended up buying a Panasonic FS50. It cost me £90 - within my budget (around the £100 mark) and they recommended it as a nice point and shoot camera, with a good lense.

When I got home, I googled it and couldn't find reviews. I logged on to Which? and saw that their review is that they do not like it and that there are about 35 cameras in the same price bracket that they prefer! That put me on edge a bit.

So I got using it and I'm looking through the results and - although I don't know to what degree my perception is being flavoured by reading the bad review - many of the photos are not in focus. It appears that in the majority of photos the autofocus has either decided to focus on something odd (throwing the subjects out of focus) or people are just blurry from movement. The photos were taken indoors but not necessarily in awful light conditions - I'm sure my Coolpix S500 captured better photos.

I'm hoping you guys can advise... what do you think of the FS50? Am I being too sensitive to the photos because of that bad review or is this a problem with the camera?
And where do I stand - do you think I can return the camera or maybe ask them to trade up? The one thing about trading up is that their prices are not competitive, but I suppose since I only buy a camera every few years and I bought in a rush maybe it's just something I have to swallow.

What would you do??

Thank you all!

Joe

Discussion is locked

7 Posts
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Clarification Request
Panasonic FS50
by JoeS132 Sep 30, 2013 2:17AM PDT

Sorry - correction... the camera I was originally looking at that had been superseded was the SZ7, not TZ!

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Answer
Panasonic FS50
by Forum moderator Sep 30, 2013 12:26AM PDT

The FS50 is a budget camera and you are not likely to find any complete reviews.
Since it is a 16MP CCD sensor camera, I would not expect great pictures from that camera.

If you can trade-up to a different model, I suggest you do.

Look for something with 12MP CMOS sensor.

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FS50
by JoeS132 Oct 2, 2013 7:38PM PDT

Thank you for the reply.
I am havign difficulty finding such a camera for less than £150, which is my budget!
It's funny - they have such high MP on the cheaper ones. As you say, it doesn't produce the best result... one wonders why they do it!

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Theory "More is Better"
by snapshot2 Forum moderator Oct 3, 2013 12:08AM PDT

Reality "More is not better on a small sensor"

They are putting more and more pixels on the same size sensor assembly.
The only way to do that is to make the pixels smaller.
Small pixels produce less light.

Less light means you have to raise the ISO settings to produce the same amount of light as a larger pixel.
When you raise the ISO, it is like turning up the volume on a small cheap radio.
Distortion.
The camera makers call it noise.
To reduce the noise they use a noise reduction firware program in the camera.
That firmware also reduces the detail.
Grass and tree leaves will appear as being smudged.
Stay away from trees with needles instead of leaves.
They will appear badly blurred.

OK for 4 x 6 prints. Bad for larger prints.

Older small cameras with less pixels will produce better detail.
12 megapixels is about the limit for good detail.

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wow
by JoeS132 Oct 3, 2013 11:47PM PDT

that's amazing - thank you for sharing. I was surprised by how high the MP were, compared to my S500 with 7.1!!

So why do they do it? The manufacturers surely know better?!

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possible camera
by JoeS132 Oct 7, 2013 6:24PM PDT

Hi all - sorry another question.... the shop doesn't have very much in stock... a few under £150 but with similar mp. There is one with 12 and it's £99. The Olympus VH-150. But I cannot find anything about it online. Can anyone comment in this context?

Thank you

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Check Model number
by snapshot2 Forum moderator Oct 8, 2013 1:05AM PDT

I can find nothing on a VH-150.

There is a VG-150 and a VH-510
Here are specifications on those:

http://snapsort.com/compare/Olympus-VG-150-vs-Olympus-VH-510/specs

They are rated as equal.

But VH-510 would be the better choice.
It has image stabilization and CMOS sensor.
The VG-150 has no image stabilization and CCD sensor.

Both are budget cameras and you are not likely to find a thorough review.

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